how to change your own oil

[sandsmuseum]

Here is a tutorial on how to change your own oil in a Lotus Elise.

Some of us have been working on cars for ever... Some of us have tried, made mistakes, and tried again. It is fun learning, at least it was for me.

Some of the stuff we talk about assumes more than basic knowledge. I decided to try and help the new comers with a tutorial on how to change your own oil. The Elise is more complicated than many cars but the skill required is still basic. You will learn something and have fun doing it. That and you will save almost $300! It should take about an hour.

For you pros, please comment on my process. I am sure I made some mistakes or something is not clear. (Please send a picture of the drain plug gasket, I forgot to take one.)

http://www.sandsmuseum.com/cars/elis...oilchange.html

Michael

[Jim Itin]

A couple of additional notes for Michael's highly detailed oil change
procedure:
1) Before taking the car out for a drive (the oil must be hot before
changing), remove the access panel. This will allow you to start
draining the oil much sooner (while it's still hot and the junky stuff
is still suspended in the oil). On the other hand, you might not
need to remove the access panel before the drive if you've
substituted Dzus fasteners (quick release fittings) for the standard
hex nuts / allen head fittings.
2) Run the car at moderate to aggressive rpms for at least 15 minutes
(or more since it's fun). The point is to get the oil FULLY warmed up
and the thermostat(s) to the oil cooler(s) open so that the oil in
the cooler(s) circulates thru the sump.
3) When you've completed the banzai drive around the countryside,
and you're draining the old oil, let the sump drain for at least 20
minutes. As long as you can stand it is best -- less old oil left to
mingle with the fresh lube is better.
4) Before re-installing the sump drain plug, wrap a few turns of Teflon
tape around the threads. Not really necessary, but you know the
plug will come out the next time without damaging any threads.
5) Fill the new filter about 80% full with fresh oil, then thread it back
on to the cleaned mount (after lubing the filter's seal, of course).
This will eliminate most of the lag required for the oil pump to fill
the filter housing (which must happen before oil reaches all those
sensitive bearings). I know it's only a few seconds, but a little oil
starvation goes a long ways with crankshaft and camshaft bearing
surfaces.
Jim

[cixelsyd]

Changing the oil in this car is perfectly do-able for the average person. You will need some significant amount of time, however, and some tools.

Multiple people have done oil changes on this car, if you have never attempted such a thing before and would like to hear more about people's experiences, I would suggest searching the forums for posts.

I can sum up the basics for you, though.

1. The oil filter is a stock toyota part. Ask for the OEM filter for the 2zz-ge engine from a late model celica gt-s, matrix, or corolla. Or get the Lexis filter, or get an aftermarket filter for that engine. It is all a matter of taste. Make sure you have a line on the oil, also. After 1,000 miles, the Elise takes full synthetic oil. From the service manual:

"At the First After Sales Service and completion of the running-in period, a fully synthetic 5W/40 oil such as Texaco Havoline Synthetic should be used." If this is not available, the oil should meet the following standards:

"Viscosity: 5W/40
Quality Standard: API SJEC; ILSAC; ACEA A3
Capacity - refill inc. filter 4.4 litre (Cars fitted with front mounted oil coolers contain an additional 3.5 litres, but this oil is not drained during routine servicing)"

2. The oil change is easiest to do if you have a 4 point lift available, if not, than back the car up onto stands so you can slide under it.

3. The oil change is very easy to do, but it does require removing two underpanels on the car, each of which has approximately 10 fasteners. So you'll need a metric socket wrench set to get the fasteners off the underpanels. First, take off the diffuser, then remove the next panel back as well (although not technically necessary, removing the second panel allows you to get right to the oil filter and very easily drain the oil pan).

4. Drain the oil pan, and then remove and replace both the filter and the drain plug. Careful, the filter will be full of oil!

5. Fill the oil with the required lubricants. Note - if using Mobile One oil, their bottles will screw right into the oil cap threads on top of the engine. Cut the bottom off of one to make an excellent funnel!

6. Now might be a good time to fire up the car and see if anything leaks. If not, your good and almost done.

7. Button up both underpanels, make sure you put the diffuser on last!

8. Drive happy.

-=cixel